Car-brake



(No Model.)

' A. H. MARDEN.

OAR BRAKE.

No. 270,962. Patented Jan. 23, 1888.

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PATENT CAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 270,962, dated January 23, 1883.

Application filed September 30, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, ALDIs HENRY MARDEN, of Oambridge,in the county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Gar-Brakes, of which thefollowingis adescription sufficiently full, clear, and exact to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which said invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a top or plan "view; Fig. 2, a side elevation Fig. 3, an end view; Figs. 4and 5, views of the clamp, and Fig. 6 a sectional view of the beam.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures of the drawlugs.

My invention relates to the class of carbrakes employed onsteam and horse cars; and it consists principally in a novel construction and arrangement of the beam of the brake, as hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed, by which a stronger, more durable, andefl'ective device of this characteris produced than is now in ordinary use.

The nature and operation of the improvement will be readily understood by thefollowiug explanation, itsextreme simplicity rendering an elaborate description unnecessary.

In the drawings,Arepresents the beam, B Bthe brake-heads, and C the lever-clamp.

The heads are designed to be suspended to the truck and provided with shoes in the usual manner.

The beam is composed ofiron or steel, rolled or pressed into shape, and consists of a flat body, a, having a double flange or T-edge, d, and a ribbed edge, 00, and is so arranged when in position for use in the brake that the body a will be in a horizontal or nearly horizontal position, or so that its flanges 01 will stand nearly at right angles to-the line of strain, as best shown in cross-section in Figs. 3, 4, and 5.

The brake-heads are mortised or formed to receive the ends of the beam, leaving a part of the body a and rib :vprojecting therefrom, as seen in Fig. 3, the beam being secured in the heads by means of the keys m min the following manner, viz: A notch, c, corresponding in width with the thickness of the brakeheads, is cut in the edge 61, near each end of the beam, and that part of the mortise n which re ceives the body a is made slightly deeper than the thickness of the body. That part of the mortise which receives the flanged edge at is also slightly higher or deeper than the width of said edge, so that when the end of the beam is inserted and the key at is driven into the mortise under the edge the beam willbe forced upward, causing the brake-head to enter the notch c, thus locking the beam and head together in a manner which will bereadily 0bvious without a more explicit description.

The notches o may be made in either the upper or lower side of the edge 6!, as desired, the keys being inserted opposite the notches and bent down,as shown at g g, Fig. 2, to prevent them from being accidentally removed.

The beam may be constructed straight or may be curved on the line of strain, as shown in Fig. l, the curve terminating at r, or near where the beam enters the heads, the curved beam being preferable to the straight one, as affordingthegreatest possible degreeofstrength.

A clamp, O, is attached to the center of the beam by the bolt and nut f, and is provided with two arms, which project horizontally from its inner face, being arranged diagonally thereonto receive the brake-lever. (Not shown.) The body of the clamp is mortised or formed to lit the beam to which it is secured, and is preferably so constructed as to entirely encircle the same, as seen in Fig. 4, but may be formed as shown in Fig.5, if desired, or so as not to extend around the rib w.

The object of the rib is to keep the body a from warping, or in a proper position when the beam is subjected to a heavy strain, andis preferably made round,or nearly so,as seen in Figs. 3 and 4; but it may be made in any other shape to successfully accomplish the same result.

I do not confine myself to securiugthe beam in the heads by means of the notches v and keys or pins m, as it may be secured by nuts and bolts, or in anyother convenient and proper manner, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus explained my improvement, what I claim is- 1. As a new article of manufacture, a rolled metal bow-shaped brake-beam forrailroad-cars,

consisting of a T-shaped bar provided with a strengthening-rib on the edge opposite the double flange or cross, the curve of said beam being outward in the direction of the strain, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a T-shaped brakebeam, the flange or cross of which is provided with notches near the ends of the beam, a

brake-shoe having a T-shaped slot into which said beam fits, and a key which passes through 10 said slot opposite the notch in the beam, substantially as described.

*ALDIS HENRY MARDEN. Witnesses:

G. A. SHAW, ALFRED FAWCETT. 

